Winscribe have launched WinScribe On Demand - a web based solution that gives you the benefits of the Winscribe digital dictation solution but without the need to invest in the servers and other technical infrastructure necessary to support it.

The Software as a Service (Saas) model eliminates the capital expenditure for software and servers, reduces the need for IT resources and accelerates deployment and in turn the benefits that can accrue to the practice.

You can get a 30 day free trial here

Winscribe has also just announced support for the Nokia N95 and claim to be the only digital dictation provider to support this device at the moment.

IRIS acquire OPSIS - Charles Christian has the details here

DMC Business Machines, a leading provider of print and scanning solutions, today announced that in collaboration with LexisNexis it has developed a document scanning management solution, providing integration into the LexisNexis Visualfiles solution and is in the process of developing a similar application for the Axxia DNA offering, specifically for the legal sector. This extends the functionality of these two core products, enhancing users’ ability to efficiently allocate, store and retrieve documents pertaining to individual matters and cases.

DMC has built the ‘connector’, which have been embedded into Lexis Nexis’ Visualfiles solution, allowing users to scan documents into their case and matter managements systems. To illustrate, a user scanning a document is able to allocate the document via the ‘connector’ to a particular matter or case. This means that every document scanned is not only stored in the right place, but that there is a firm audit trail for all the legal documents pertaining to particular case and practice matters. This significantly increases efficiency within legal teams through file sharing, but more importantly reduces the need for unnecessary printing due to easy access and availability for all team members. 

The DMC development allows LexisNexis to respond to their customer demands. Given the volume of paper work coming into legal firms and its confidential nature, it is imperative that there is a record of its storage along with easy and efficient file sharing amongst legal team members. The integration between scanning and case management is a definite step towards facilitating a paperless office.

nFlow, have announced that it has successfully deployed its Digital Dictation (DD) system at Mullis & Peake, a well known Essex-based law firm.

Mullis & Peake chose nFlow’s solution based on its rich functionality, ease of integration, exceptional performance in both standard PC and thin client environments, and affordability.

This solution is currently being used by 45 users in Mullis & Peake’s Romford site on standard Windows PCs.

The next phase will be to extend the implementation to the firm’s Chadwell Heath site, this will be deployed in a Citrix environment with a further 7 users who will benefit from the solution.

SRC announced today that it has been chosen to deploy the SRC WinScribe digital dictation solution to more than 160 users at fast-growing Top 200 law firm, Boyes Turner. The SRC WinScribe solution was chosen because of its support for mobile working and the new WinScribe Advanced Interwoven Integration module, which enables fee earners to drive dictations from the firm’s Interwoven Worksite document management system.

Speaking about the roll out of digital dictation, Marc Toovey, Head of IT at Boyes Turner said: “We are a fast growing full service law firm with a reputation for innovation and excellent customer service. To be able to sustain this level of growth and service we need to drive efficiencies across the firm by streamlining and improving business critical tasks. SRC clearly demonstrated that the WinScribe technology will provide this through better and more efficient team working. In addition, the strength of the remote working capabilities and the ability to integrate with our document management system made the SRC solution an obvious choice.”

Legal software solutions provider, Eclipse Legal Systems, has announced a ‘Software as a Service’ (SaaS) option for firms wishing to implement its Proclaim Case Management software.

Proclaim has long been available as either a client-server or ‘thin’ (e.g. Terminal Services or Citrix) solution.  This latest delivery mechanism sees Proclaim become accessible in a ‘hosted’ environment via a browser, complete with new pricing structure to maximise availability to smaller practices.

Eclipse’s SaaS model makes the full range of Proclaim tools and functionalities available – the software delivered is identical to that used in a standard client-server environment.  Firms can choose to host data internally on their own server equipment, or can opt for Proclaim to host the information ‘off-site’.

A range of pricing models are available which broaden the system’s appeal for small or start-up practices as well as for established firms.  Monthly user subscriptions are available for the many organisations for which significant initial financial outlays are impractical.  The new system will also appeal to larger practices looking for rapid user volume upscaling / downscaling to suit varying workloads, and fast rollout across remote branches and home-working sites.

BigHand have also announced that the highly ranked, global law firm Howrey LLP, is switching out its G2 and DictaNet dictation systems in London and Munich respectively, in favour of the ‘Best of Breed’ award-winning BigHand3 digital dictation workflow system. BigHand software will enable Howrey to centralise its dictation infrastructure, and deploy to European and US offices as and when required.

Daryl Hogg, European IT Manager at Howrey, describes his reasons for upgrading:

“The G2 system could not offer a long term, reliable dictation solution. We were experiencing lost dictations and transcriptions on a daily basis, amounting to considerable pressure on our IT support resource, as well as the expense for lawyers to re-dictate lost recordings. With issues of centralisation & deployment in mind our DictaNet system will also be phased out over the coming months.

Howrey is committed to implementing best of breed technology, and BigHand’s leading status in the global legal community is without doubt. BigHand enables us to centralise our infrastructure; centralised coordination will enable ease of deployment, control and support.

Furthermore, key to our decision to implement the BigHand system over any other, is its second generation BlackBerry dictation application. Our lawyers all use BlackBerry devices and therefore a no brainer for us to simply, and cost effectively, improve their ability to work remotely, either at home, on site or whilst travelling.

In terms of planning for the future, BigHand’s integration with Interwoven is also very impressive, and will certainly feature in our pipeline.”

Legal software solutions provider, Eclipse Legal Systems, has expanded its award-winning Proclaim integrated case management suite with the release of ‘Proclaim Lite’.

Proclaim Lite is a distilled version of the full Proclaim case management system. It provides an interface for fee earners to access matter-specific tools such as time recording, memo creation and bill production, but does not enable advanced document production and workflow actions.

The system has been designed for larger law firms which require a firm-wide case management software system, but do not require full workflow capabilities for all fee earning departments. As an example, teams dealing with non-standard work (such as in many commercial areas) require general time recording and billing. However, they may not have the need for process-driven methodologies and workflow features and these have traditionally gone unused.

Proclaim Lite user licences can be fully and seamlessly integrated with ‘full’ Proclaim implementations, and are priced at a reduced rate in accordance with the controlled functionality on offer. Firms can therefore implement Proclaim firm-wide, and provide general management toolsets for non-standard fee earning departments, without having to invest money in workflow tools which would be under-utilised.

Two specialist legal consultancies have joined forces to launch a new joint venture dedicated to helping law firms evaluate the options for outsourcing all or part of their IT and – where appropriate – to procure and manage the transition from in-house support to an effective managed service platform.

Managed Services Consultancy (MSC) builds on the 35 years’ combined experience of managing directors, Allan Carton (Inpractice) and Bill Kirby (Professional Choice Consultancy) in working with law firms to help them develop profitable legal business, where new initiatives inevitably involve more effective use of technology.

www.managedservicesconsultancy.com

BigHand recently announced an advanced Windows Mobile edition of its software, BigHand Mobile (Windows Mobile Edition), which brings professional digital dictation capabilities for Windows Mobile versions 5.0, 6, and 6.1. BigHand uses the enhanced features within the .NET Framework 3.5 and its integration capabilities with Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) to create connected applications that offer compelling user experiences for mobile devices. This enables devices running BigHand Mobile (Windows Mobile Edition) to act as first class clients within the BigHand Digital Dictation system, fully integrated alongside the traditional desktop client. BigHand currently has over 650 law firms worldwide using its enterprise dictation workflow software.

The MyLawyer® network of web based law firms is due to be launched later this year by Epoq.

The initial firms identified today include the Legal 500 top tier Hugh James, Nelsons, and Pannone. Combined, this first wave of firms represents 1,600 staff, in 9 offices with over £90 million in turnover.

Epoq will be revealing further firms joining the MyLawyer network during the course of 2008, building the UK’s largest ‘virtual’ law firm.

Forward-thinking Solicitors and legal commentators, such as Professor Stephen Mayson1, have anticipated the impact of the Legal Services Act, and already voiced concern that the entry of financial institutions into the market will inevitably lead to a reduction in high street firms’ client portfolio. “Perhaps the largest unexpected threat to high street Solicitors may come from inside the profession itself”, said Richard Cohen, Solicitor and Joint CEO of Epoq, “Those firms who have not yet or are unable to consider the ramifications of a changing market may end up facing a second, possibly greater challenge than that exerted by the major financial institutions. High street solicitors stand to lose market share to other law firms that are embracing the competitive advantage of technology and the distribution of the internet – such as those that have joined our expanding MyLawyer network.”

The MyLawyer network provides participating firms with a sophisticated and revolutionary extension to their own website, enabling them to deliver transactional services to new and existing clients. MyLawyer member firms receive their own branded private-client and business services website, where their clients can engage, instruct and generate draft documentation, then seamlessly move from web to bespoke in-office services.
The MyLawyer direct website will also aggregate all of its members into one single ‘virtual’ law firm www.mylawyer.co.uk, promoted nationwide by Epoq. Additionally, in a competitive twist, MyLawyer is to be promoted through many leading financial services providers with whom Epoq has strong relationships and already provides services to their customers.